Category: Book Reviews

We received a copy of Stomp School from Little Tiger Books written by Jeff Norton and pictures by Leo Antolini. The front cover is colourful and full of fun looking Monsters ready to stomp. Aimed at toddlers this fantastic book is all about creativity and destruction, 2 things toddlers LOVE!

Stomp School

Rikki, a little Kaiju (Japanese for a strange breast) is determined to build biggest, best city ever. He couldn’t wait to show his daddy but baby brother Torik wants to play too. Poor Rikki couldn’t stop Torik from stomping, crushing and smashing the city to pieces. Which of course Izzy found hilarious, what little monster wouldn’t?

When Rikki gets upset and Stomps his dad decides it’s time for Stomp school, where little monsters go when your favourite monsters go to work. The first day at Stomp school starts and Rikki just wants to go home and build. Instead he stays and builds with Miss Bronte the whole class, ALL day!

They all work hard to build the biggest, best city ever… then of course everyone decides it’s to stomp, crush and smash it.

Poor Rikki is sad he still doesn’t get to show his daddy the biggest, best city ever and stomps himself. Miss Bronte tells Rikki it’s time to paint what they had built before stomping. Rikki paints his biggest, best city ever to show his daddy.

Relieved to be able to show his daddy his hard work Rikki joins in having lots of fun, stomping, smashing and crushing the city to pieces. He proudly shows his daddy at the end of the day and heads home looking forward to returning the next day.

Our thoughts

We love Stomp School as it is such a fun book with a relatable story. Eva read with us and mentioned she feels like Rikki sometimes. Izzy is Torik as she smashes Eva’s creations down. She also saw the funny side and decided next time Izzy smashes down her tower she will join in and enjoy the stomping and smashing too! Izzy just loved the idea of stomping and smashing things.

With fun peek-through holes and flaps to lift this is a really fun story to read and stomp to together! Stomp school is available now from Little Tiger Press Books for £6.99. A great addition to any little ones bookshelf.

10,9,8… Owls Up Late is a fantastic bedtime book aimed at 1-4 year olds available from 10th August from Little Tiger Press. Written by Georgiana Deutsch and Illustrated by Ekaterina Trukhan, 10,9,8… Owls Up Late is great for counting down to bedtime.

10,9,8… Owls Up Late

10 cheeky, bouncy, noisy owls are playing in a tree. Mummy calls for bedtime but the owlets are having far too much fun to go to sleep! Aimed at reluctant sleepers, 10,9,8… Owls Up Late uses the count-down of owls to make bedtime fun, educational and relaxing.

We recieved a copy from Little Tiger Press and Izzy has fallen in love with 10,9,8… Owls Up Late. For £10.99 it’s a great bedtime book for all toddlers! Izzy loves this book, especially the peep-through pages. The muted colours and count-down helps children relax. Creating a tranquil mood with it’s warm and loving conclusion, children effortlessly drift off to sleep.

The soothing use of rhyme with the peep-through images adds an intriguing, interactive element, revealing different amusing animals & their expressions. Georgina Deutsch’s gorgeous owl illustrations definitely caught Izzy’s attention and the fabulous counting guide at the back teaches children numbers.

10,9,8… Owls Up Late is a superb bedtime book and we would definitely recommend it! Joining in and shouting ‘We’re having too much fun and we won’t go to bed!’ really amuses Izzy. If you are looking for a bedtime book to help settle your little one this is a brilliantly helpful book.

Do you read at bedtime? What’s your little one’s favourite book to fall asleep to?

Jungle Jam in Brazil is an inspiring music based story where Mikey the monkey and his friends take a trip to Brazil! You may remember our review of Jungle Jam from last year when Eva also braved the camera for the first time to give her thoughts too! Jungle Jam in Brazil is the second book in the Jungle Jam series. We received copy to review and have a copy to give away too!

Jungle Jam in Brazil

Mikey the monkey and his friends go on an exciting adventure in the second book by Noam & Louise Ledermen – Jungle Jam in Brazil. They head to Brazil to play huge show trying new things along the way.

Gina the giraffe is anxious about her trip & trying new things. Each time Gina the giraffe gets nervous her friends help her through. As someone who suffers from anxiety I found the storyline quite comforting. I’m certain any children with anxiety will find the story helpful and uplifting. I know I’ve been anxious about the same things as Gina before.

It can be scary going on a plane to a new country, trying new food, doing new things & performing in front of an audience. With friends by your side it can be much easier to do & try new things though. Gina is encourage by her friends which helps ease her fears.

Jungle Jam in Brazil is a fabulous book for children. With bright colours & rhyming sentences Jungle Jam in Brazil is sure to bring a smile to any child’s face! Jungle Jam had a fun activity in the back for children and Jungle Jam in Brazil has one too!

Fancy winning a copy for your little one? Enter the competition below to win a copy of Jungle Jam in Brazil!*

The girls and I were invited to celebrate Little Tiger Press Books 30th birthday on Saturday, at Discover in Stratford – London. Eva was especially excited at the idea of getting to meet authors and illustrators as she has become a total bookworm. So excited she woke us at 6am that day!

When we arrived Author Tracey Corderoy read her book Fairytale Pets, an absolutely fantastic story full of fun characters. As Tracey read illustrator Jorge Martin drew the characters which was amazing to watch! Eva sat mesmerized listening to the story whilst Izzy was… well Izzy haha! She spent half the time listening and half trying to ‘pop’ balloons.

After Tracey read the story to us Beth from Little Tiger Press ran through what we would be doing. There were 4 tables where we would spend 15 minutes at each. Authors and illustrators had crafts laid out based on their book. They all looked fantastic but biscuits definitely lured all the children in!

I managed to coax the girls away from the biscuits and we sat with Jonny Lambert, Author & illustrator of An Only Lonely Panda. Jonny had Tiger masks to cut out and wear. He was brilliant with the girls, chatting away with us all and helping Eva whilst I helped Izzy.

The girls loved acting like tigers with their masks, getting out their claws and growling!

At the next table we met Caroline Crowe, author of Tiny Tantrums. Tiny Tantrum monsters had been cut out ready for decorating. Again the girls happily chatted away whilst making their monsters, adding googly eyes & colouring them.

As always Eva made her’s extra colourful whilst Izzy enjoyed giving her monster 4 eyes. They both brought home their monsters to finish off too.

We then moved on to the table the girls had their eye on at the start, Tracey Corderoy had delicious biscuits for them to decorate with icing and a range of sprinkles. The girls loved chatting to Tracey and covering their biscuits. They also made a paper bag grumpy bear from the story!

Izzy concentrated so much making her biscuit, no surprise there. She loves her food haha!

When the final bell rang Eva ran over to the final table. ‘That is Actually MY blanket, Baby!’ author Angie Morgan and illustrator Kate Alizadeh helped the children decorate their own blanket.

Whilst Eva was busy glittering, Jorge Martin sat with Izzy drawing a tiger. Izzy of course took over! Between them they made this cute tiger with a basket of fruit for him to eat.

Eva loved making her blanket and getting glitter everywhere. Izzy did get round to making her own blanket too but I accidentally left it behind. Oops.. bad mummy!

At the end Caroline Crowe read Tiny Tantrums and the girls had lots of fun joining in and stamping their feet. Izzy tried getting a little too involved . She loved the story and had to be pulled back. She was over the moon to discover she had a copy to take home at the end.

To finish celebrating Little Tiger Press Books 30th Birthday there was a buffet. Of course this made Izzy extremely happy! A Little Tiger tote was handed out too. Inside were the 4 books from each table. The girls were able to get them signed by the authors and illustrators too which of course made Eva ecstatic. A beautiful selection of books to add to their ever growing book case!

It was lovely being invited to Little Tiger Press Books 30th Birthday party. It was a brilliant afternoon & I got to meet another blogger too, Bell From Bow who surprised me by recognising me. Pretty cool but so unexpected I probably went bright red!

After the party we were able to explore Discover and it’s fantastic play areas. You may have seen from My Sunday Photo’s. The girls were amazed by it and I can’t deny I was too! The magical tree with it’s musical notes & hidey holes for the kids to play in, Hootahs flying observatory & the outside play area have to be our favourite parts. We spent well over an hour there before having to head back for the train. We will be going back there in the summer to play as it is so cool!

Did you know it was Little Tiger Press Books 30th Birthday? Do you have any of the books mentioned here?

Clever Tykes are helping inspire enterprising behaviour in pupils/children along with positivity and resourcefulness with their storybooks. They also have the worlds first enterprise education portal too! Supported by the Lloyds Banking Group Clever Tykes were able to send us 3 of their storybooks to help spread the word about these amazing resources.

At Clever Tykes, we’re passionate about instilling enterprising behaviour and the associated skills in children. We know that enterprise education has a key role to play in helping children adopt a positive mindset and attitude towards work and their future.

So what is enterprise education?

Enterprise education isn’t just about the skills needed to be enterprising but also the behaviour, attitude & mind set needed. The 3 storybooks created by Ben & Jodie Cook help children develop a fundamental outlook on life & a can do attitude. Enterprising education enhances positivity, resourcefulness, independence, resilience & endeavour.

Enterprising Behaviour

It is much easier to instil these traits in younger children so introducing enterprising education during primary years is ideal. Whilst it doesn’t necessarily need to be a subject on it’s own Enterprising education can be integrated into PSHE lessons & more. A lot of children lack a positive role model to teach them new skills & ways of thinking.

Clever tykes aim to educate and inspire children to be high-achieving and empower children.

Our Thoughts

Eva read the Clever Tykes Change It Cho book first and quickly flew through it with plenty of smiles! Once she had read it I asked Eva what she thought. She really enjoyed the book and reading how Cho decides to change how much junk food kids eat. Cho starts raising awareness but faces several challenges along the way. Eva said her favourite part in the book is when Cho stands up in assembly in front of other children to tell them about healthy eating.

Personally I think these books are fantastic. Eva’s attitude has changed since reading the book. She has started putting a lot more effort into everything. Challenges no longer end in tears since Eva read the Clever Tykes books. Eva is stopping to think of ways she can solve problems rather than getting upset & feeling defeated. Definitely a sign the books have helped instil positive enterprising behaviour.

Resources for Teachers

Clever Tykes have the worlds first enterprise education portal which contains plenty of resources for teachers. Over 100 pages of teachers materials and lesson plans can be accessed via the portal. UK schools can use portal.clevertykes.com to create their account. There are a range of ways in which enterprise education can be integrated into PSHE lessons and other areas if the curriculum.

Ben & Jodie believe enterprise education shouldn’t be a mandatory part of the curriculum. They do however feel it can be incorporated in other lessons to encourage enterprising behaviour in children.

We were sent a copy of Animalcolm to review written by Daniel Baddiel, Award winning author of ‘The Parent Agency’ and ‘The Person Controller’. Animalcolm is aimed at 8-11 year olds.

Animalcolm

Eva loved the design on the front cover and spent the entire afternoon reading Animalcolm on the sofa! Although she only just turned 7 she found the book easy to read and really loved the illustrations throughout the book.

Unlike his family Malcolm hates animals do when he gets a chinchilla for his birthday which he is really not happy! To make things worse his year 6 school trip turns out to be a trip to a FARM. More animals..

At the farm Malcolm comes across a wise goat who grants wishes. He quickly changes in many ways, thinking differently, speaking differently, eating differently & smelling differently too! He learns what it’s really like to be an animal but will he ever be the same again!?

Animalcolm is David Baddiels third children’s novel and I would definitely recommend it as it seems a great read. Eva was completely captivated by Animalcolm and has already hidden it away in her room along with her favourites! I can see why Baddiels children’s books are winning awards.

Although Eva loves to read she tends to find a lot of books quite boring so I was pleased to see her totally absorbed in this book, and enjoyed the silence of course! We haven’t written a post on ‘Our favourite books this week’ recently for this very reason. It was lovely to see her enjoying Animalcolm and she couldn’t wait to tell me about it after. I think I will be ordering David Baddiels other books for her too.

Have you read Animalcolm or either of the other two books he has written?

Have you seen these awesome new Emoji and Minecraft books available on Amazon yet? They are absolutely brilliant for encouraging kids to read, based on their favourite Minecraft characters &amp; Emojis to tell the story.

I’ve been lucky to review the first in each series written by P.T Evans. I love how well laid out they are. The writing is printed clearly and well spaced which makes it easier for children to follow with their fingers. With familiar Emojis and Minecraft images throughout the books children will love them!

The Minecraft books are aimed at 6 to 10 year old’s and the Emoji books are aimed at 7 to 12 year old’s, however Eva loves both the Emoji & Minecraft books at 6 and wants to get the rest in the series.

Children love Emojis, they find them amusing and fun. This series will encourage any reluctant reader. The writing is well spaced and with fun images as well as a fun storyline too, they will be hooked.

Minecraft is everywhere now and even Eva keeps begging me to buy her Minecraft stuff after playing it at her friends house and watching youtube videos about it. Even I know Stinky Steve! Children who find Minecraft exciting will love these series and they would make a brilliant gift for any reluctant reader!

With 4 books in each of the series these books would make lovely little gift sets for Christmas and birthday to help encourage any reluctant readers to enjoy reading.